Trey altered the lyrics in Cities to reference noodles. Gumbo contained a Mystery Achievement tease from Mike. Fee included a tease of the Oriental Riff from Fish, who played it on the woodblock during one of his breaks. Trey teased Streets of Cairo in Split Open and Melt. The jam between Twist and Walk Away included a segment based on the intro to Ghost. Sleep was played by request. This show was officially released as Live Phish 04. The soundcheck's Funky Bitch contained Spanish Moon teases from Mike.

Show Reviews

Copied over from CookiePuss' review from LivePhish.com
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This was the favorite show that I ever attended. The day was beautiful after a few days of rain in Japan. The venue was in the thick of downtown Fukuoka and there were tons of extras because not a lot of folks wanted to take the six hour train ride (even on the Shinkansen) from Nagoya the night before to get there. The small venue was painted entirely in black, the crowd was primarily Japanese. Folks go in by ticket number in Japan and I very fortuitously had #10 so I got a spot right in front of Trey on the rail. The vibe inside was at first a little raucous with excitement but due to the song choice and the obvious thoughtful vibe of the band both in playing and stage presence the crowd settled down almost immediately. What followed was extraordinary to behold in person. I have NEVER been to any "rock" concert where everyone was so quiet. People were intently listening and the symbiosis between band and audience was perfect. Loud applause at precisely the right moment, dead silence otherwise. The beginning of the second set felt like seeing Phish in a rehearsal and was almost obscenely intimate. The band interplay was so telepathic and the audience so enraptured that the room started to feel downright holy. It was wondrous to witness and everybody knew it. When the lights came on after the show, nobody moved. They, including myself, were entranced; it was just that hypnotic and magical. It was like a spell had been broken and we had come back to earth/Kansas/Kansai(?).

I had dinner with a new Japanese friend I met that night that would become the best man at my wedding three years later in Japan. I met my wife-to-be the next night in Osaka after the show. She's a Japanese and we have traveled back to Japan many times since then to visit the friends I met there on that tour and they have come to the U.S. many times to travel and of course see Phish. To get a feel for what the show was like, listen by yourself cause it was one of those nights that the material world pleasantly disappeared and the self was transported to the astral plane. Domo Arigatou Gozaimasu, Sakana-bandu ("Phish-band" in Japanese)

The second set is the best of Y2K to my ears, which isn't exactly a colossal achievement, but it's also the most delicate, ethereal, *patient* hour-plus of live Phish. Ever. The jam out of Walk Away sounds like a lonely wounded version of the 'Quadrophonic Topplings' jam at Big Cypress, the segue *into* Walk Away seems to stretch out forever, and the 18-minute take on Twist is pure crystalline sweetness. Beneath the washes of ambient sound a storm builds, and the electricity dissipates in an understated but intense 2001. Even GBOTT is infused with energy - and yet the whole set never seems to rise above a whisper. The show plays like a delicate small-venue coda to Big Cypress, albeit with none of that show's anarchic swamplands energy. Get this one.

A strong candidate for the greatest two set show not played on 12-31-99. If you dig/have the patience for ethereal, spaceland, glacial, experimental, mind-numblingly together Phish, this show is for you. The first set is totally laid back while also energetic...a very strange vibe surrounds the whole tape. Maybe it's the band's state of mind, the lack of crowd noise, or just the way it was recorded...but man if you don't feel like chilling out to this show ALL THE TIME.

Highlights include set one and set two. More specifically, a tragic Gumbo (personal favorite), an intergalactic Twist and following jam, and a solid Walk Away and following jam, and 2001, and a great encore, even if Trey sounds entirely worn out.

Get this show immediately if you've never experienced it. Because, after all, one does not simply "listen" to Fukuoka. One "lives" Fukuoka.

I can only enjoy the simulacrum. With a solid FOB I picked up about six years ago, I come back to this show more than almost any other in my collection. Why?

One can feel the dissipation, here, yet due to the small venue and novelty of Japan, there's a compressed concision of yore balanced with the high tech eerie of whiz bang e-jam. Trey pulls out some "scratch" sounds, there's a night club vibe, and yet there's a dream drifting, too.

Compared to the band at the same time one year or 10 months before, this is definitely the "other side of the peak." I always did like the after-burn, though. It's that moment when you can finally draw a deep breath and reorient yourself, maybe even find your car. It's definitely a floating home vibe, and that's where I am listening to this right now.

The other reviewers have done an outstanding job of reviewing this show. I just want to say that the second set of this show may be the most beautiful music I've ever heard. Phish has done a lot of great things over the years, but what happened in Fukuoka on this night in June was something truly special. If you only have an hour (and three seconds) to spare, listen from Twist through 2001. But do yourself a favor and listen to the whole show. You won't regret it.

My favorite Phish show at the moment. Just wanted to note that the 1st set is no slouch either. The relaxed Cities (shades of 97's chilled-out versions), spacey Gumbo (a harbinger of what was to come that night), and extra-mustard Llama, in particular, are highlights.

Anything I could say about the 2nd set has already been covered. What a hell of a show.

I don't care that it's missing some of my favorite songs; if I were given the opportunity to go back in time and see just one show, there is no question it would be this one.

I bought this show back when the LivePhish series started purely because I thought it would be interesting to listen to a Phish performance from Japan. Since then it has remained my unchallenged favorite of all the shows I've seen live or heard secondhand.

The energy here is beyond special: contained but intense, measured but adventurous, and sonically slick to an otherworldly degree rarely achieved by the group even at their considerable best. *Definitely* almost as good as James Brown on a bad night.

The core of the show is the "Twist." Not only is it the Mother of All "Twists," I believe it represents the zenith of the band's achievement in collective improvisation, the pinnacle of the guys' 15+ years of musicianship and friendship at home and on the road. It may not be your favorite mood, and it may not go to your favorite places. But from a standpoint of fairly objective musicianship and craft, this "Twist" is as good as it gets. The jam, spacious without ever seeming empty and jam-packed with telepathy, serenely drifts off into the deep space of an ambient C major. The situation seems irretrievable, like going under sedation. Just when the "Ghost" motif enters and you are wondering how -- or if -- they will get back to "Twist's" native key of G, it happens almost before you can perceive it: like an electric stove eye showing the first signs of an eerie red glow, the friendly warmth of Trey's guitar carefully summons the song's main riff from the abyss and then crescendos to a jubilant, defiant snarl as the band begins to sing the final chorus. It is a stupendous feat of collective musicianship, and the jam-surrounded Stones cover that follows is a fitting compliment delivered in total solidarity.

There are many other fine experiences to be had in this show. Though there are a few minor flubs and sound problems scattered across the first set, "The Curtain" and "Cities" are among the finest renditions of those songs in the catalog; the "Llama" guitar solo is particularly fierce, marked by a heavy chase delay; and "Back On the Train" and "Also Sprach" are concise but energetic explorations of those favorites in which Trey's guitar work particularly shines with an unusually suave and polished sophistication. The whole show simply *sounds* unbelievable, largely thanks to Paul's expert mix.

When Page brings "The Squirming Coil" to a close, you can tell beyond question that he realizes he is putting the finishing touches on a real milestone in the band's personal journey and professional career. It is musically gorgeous and emotionally quite moving to hear in the context of the whole performance.

This is a show to enjoy from start to finish in peace and quiet. I have read that the small audience was transfixed and largely silent through the entire show, and I have no problem believing it.

This show is absolutely great Phish...looks like there were only 500 people in attendance and this was a show in Japan...but this is crazy good Phish... I remember I was at live show for another band... The sound guy needed a cd to play for the crowd...this showed happened to be in my car...so I grabbed the second set...it was an audience version not a soundboard...he played it...and what was supposed to be 10 or 15 minutes...turned into they played the whole set...and everyone was dancing like a live band was playing...crazy shit...this show is jaw dropping...anyone that tells you differently doesn't know Phish...

Having some non-phans over for an evening and want to play show audio that people can chill hard to without feeling overwhelmed the vast musical terrain that a band like Phish can cover? This is that show.

The Twist jam is my favorite Phish jam of all time, possibly in my mind only surpassed by the 21+ minutes of jamming proceeding Roses are Free on the second night of the Island Tour. (4/3/98) The jamming within Twist, and the jam after, into Walk Away, is simply beautiful, confident and patient.
In other parts of the set, Walk Away is always a great cover to hear, one of Page's best vocal turns. The Back on the Train opener is an unexpected groove fest.
Amazing show that features a very patient Phish.

I absolutely love this show, although I wasn't there (I really wish that I had been).

The second set of this one is right up there with Auburn Hills 97 as far as being the greatest sets ever played by Phish. They sound nothing alike (which is a wonderful thing), but the groove on this 2nd set (really, the whole show) is ridiculously crazy!

Nearly every song is a standout, both first and second (obviously) set. Case in point, I'm usually not a huge Fee fan, but they're lilting along beautifully the whole song and top it off with dazziling last 30 second lulliby. Someone commented on the 97 sound of Cities, but I hear some of the best of all eras in this concert, even intersplicing styles like on the Melt. The second set is near flawless exploration and flow. True gem.

This is, for me, the greatest Phish show of all time, and there are two reasons for that.

First, the music. This show is of a place with the European shows of 97-98. Think Amsterdam, Hamburg, Cologne, Prague, Barcelona. Small venues, intimate settings, and you can absolutely feel that conveyed through the music. The first-set Cities is played at a great, relaxed tempo (kind of a theme for the night, I would say), and the Gumbo -> Llama that follows is top-shelf. The second set is the best set of live Phish ever. Yes, a setlist that reads BOTT, Twist -> Walk Away -> 2001 is the best set of live Phish ever. Not a Tweezer or a Mike's Groove or a Hood to be found, yet the set contains a cohesion from start to finish that other contenders for "Best Set Ever" lack. There simply isn't a dull moment, and, what's more, the set contains two separate "Best Evers" - Twist and 2001. And to top the whole thing off, the encore of Sleep and Squirming Coil is the absolute perfect way to end this particular show. No other choices would have served this night and this venue and this crowd as well as Sleep and Coil. (Shout out to the guy screaming "Sleeeeppp" when the band comes out for the encore - good call!) Page's notes to end Coil and the night are, quite simply, beautiful.

The second reason I consider this show to be the best of all time is more personal. In the not too distant past, I picked up my old copy of A Live One, which had been shelved for a very long time (sophomore year of college if I remember correctly), and gave it a spin for no particular reason. As I made my way through the Stash and the Montana (I just love that little section) and the Slave and that glorious Hood, I found myself thinking that, hey, I remember why I once spun these guys every once in a while. But I didn't know where to go from there. Eventually I made the decision to pick up two shows, just to see what might happen. Those two shows were 11/17/97 and 6/14/00, and as much as I love 11/17/97, it was 6/14/00 that I played on repeat for days and weeks at a time. Just to hear that Cities and that Jam out of Twist and that glorious dancehall funk of 2001 and, yes, that Sleep-Coil encore.

This, then, is the one Phish show that you'll have to pry from my cold, dead hands.

Both sets of this show are absolutely fantastic, in my opinion. The atmosphere of the Live Phish 04 recording captures the ambiance of the club and the respectfully attentive Japanese phans. There's just an inimitable characteristic sound to this show, and particularly the recording of it captured by Live Phish 04. The Back on the Train that opens Set 2 is my favorite version of the song, one that I feel is due a renaissance vis-a-vis extended jamming. Twist > Jam -> Walk Away -> is for many phans an all-time segment, and while I feel it has moments that are not quite as seat-of-the-pants captivating or risky, shall we say, as something from earlier in 1.0, it is definitely a series of movements that builds to a cohesive whole. The 2001 is long and gnarly, too! Sleep encore is played by request, and The Squirming Coil is always a welcome closer. I don't know exactly what it is about this show that makes it one of my absolute favorites; maybe it's got a bit of the 5/8/77 Grateful Dead factor that such a great recording circulates, or that it represents a sonic direction for Phish that had been explored before but perhaps reached its peak in this particular show. I seem to recall certain phans have contended that 6/14/00 crystallizes what the band had been trying to accomplish until Big Cypress, and even extends and magnifies the grandeur of that style--if not matching B. C. in sheer scope--while rarifying it into a typical two-set show. Let it move you!

Hard to review this show as it is so unique and such a magically wonderful experience to listen to. Obviously much has been written, but simply put, it's a show the likes of which never occurred previously and will never occur again. One of the best of all time. On to the music!

A set opening Carini is of course welcome, and this version is blessed with a slightly tired/droopy/druggy feeling injected into the customary head banging. At just under ten minutes it's not overly expansive, but do not be fooled, this version settles into an appropriately raging jam accentuated by Trey's reverse, millennial guitar tone followed by an excellent groovey sequence which Mike/Fish propel and Trey punctuates.

The Curtain>Cities is an atypical pairing, but wholly fits as a counterpoint to the opening Carini. Both songs are well played and the Cities carries more of that droopy, druggy serenity in its most enjoyable jam portion, which stretches patiently.

The Gumbo -> Llama segment is probably the highlight of the first set (although that's really personal preference considering the top to bottom quality). The Gumbo carries a phenomenal spacey jam segment that fits right into the mood of the show and veers organically into rocking territory out of which a shredding Llama emerges in most pleasing fashion.

Fee, Heavy Things might not look appealing on paper and could rightly be called the only "weak" spot in the set. But truthfully they don't feel totally out of place (and I have a soft spot for Fee). The bookend of SOAM helps displace the slight lull in the action with a fantastic set concluding jam. Don't sleep on this excellent version and stay for the humorous Trey banter... take nourishment before set II!

Overall, it's an overlooked set due to the unrelenting quality of music to follow, but much like the 11/17/97 type of shows, just because one set is truly best of all time quality, does not diminish the preceding or subsequent standout music found here. Highlights: Set should be consumed in full, but if you haven't the time, the Gumbo -> Llama is a personal favorite.

Set II is hard to describe, so I won't really, beyond saying it's canonical Phish. Perhaps the one set I'd take to the grave & certainly in the conversation. Mileage may vary if you only get your jollies from Trey theatrics.

Back on the Train is the opener and perhaps one of the finest versions ever, without even going type II. It's a totally engaging and masterfully executed jam and rocks and rollicks the listener in perfect fashion. After limbering up we dive into the Twist -> Jam -> Walk Away -> Jam -> 2001 segment, which is as good as it looks, replete with unbelievable spacey and ethereal jamming, a patient segue that equals the 7/22/97 DWD->Mike's in it's execution & of course a set closing 2001 exclamation point from a time when the tune was, simply put, better.

The encore is perfection personified to my ears. It's super mellow and simply lulls us to a conclusion with a well executed Sleep and a perfectly satisfying Coil. Easy 5/5 - obviously should be a top 5 Phish show of all time.

If you listen to the crowd before BOTT you can hear someone yell "N'Sync Covers!" Also, where can I get the soundcheck for this show? I've gotta hear a funky bitch with some spanish moon teases. This is a great show. The first set rocks and the second set rolls....phish wins

I have this entire show on sbd. Great show and I mistakenly had it as a Spartenburg, SC gig- not sure how that happened...I had lost touch with the band a bit from '95-'98 and when I got this show in 2009 my recollection of their tours was amiss. This list is spectacular. While it could be seen as top 40'ish the jams do not disappoint. The highlights for me in the first set are the 'cities', and the
'SOM' to close the set. 'Twist' is in it's truest form; slithering all over the place and weaving in and out of bass lumps which keep the tune balanced and in perfect harmony. The quality is solid and gives the listener a very thorough and defined listening experience. All fits on 80 minute disc!
Also- Corrini and Curtain deserve the highest praise for just setting the tone of the show...just listened to this while splitting wood outside...nice!

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